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John Vanak
John Joseph Vanak (1933 – November 26, 2016) was a referee in the American Basketball Association and the National Basketball Association.Pluto, Terry, 'Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990, , p.131-133 He was a United States Navy Veteran serving during the Korean War on the USS Roosevelt. He was first employed as a sergeant for the Lansford, Pennsylvania Police Department. Vanak was also the owner of the Vanak Detective Agency for over 30 years. His boyhood nickname was "Punchy". Vanak began refereeing junior high games in 1956 to stay in shape and pick up cigarette money, but it was not until 1959 that he started to officiate in earnest. Vanak worked in the old American Basketball League (ABL), a league created by Harlem Globetrotters owner Abe Saperstein in 1961 and which lasted less than two seasons. Then he went on to the NBA at a time when the officials were permitted some showing of personality in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association throughout its existence. The second of two leagues established in the 1960s after the American Basketball League (1961–1962), American Basketball League, the ABA was the more successful rival to the NBA. The league started with eleven teams; the Indiana Pacers, Kentucky Colonels, Minnesota Muskies, New Jersey Americans, and Pittsburgh Pipers were placed in the Eastern Division and the Anaheim Amigos, Dallas Chaparrals, Denver Rockets, Houston Mavericks, New Orleans Buccaneers, and Oakland Oaks (ABA), Oakland Oaks in the Western Division. George Mikan served as the first league commissioner and came up with the idea for the three-point shot to go along with a 30-second shot clock. Echoing the NHL, the league named a Most Valuable Player fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1975 ABA Playoffs
The 1975 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1974–75 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Kentucky Colonels defeating the Western Division champion Indiana Pacers in the ABA Finals in five games. Background The Kentucky Colonels won 22 of their final 25 regular season games to catch the New York Nets for a share of first place in the Eastern Division. The Colonels won their last ten regular season games. They also went 13–3 in the ABA playoffs. Because the Colonels and Nets tied for first place in the Eastern Division, a special one game playoff was played to determine the division champion (and therefore the #1 seed). The Colonels hosted the game and defeated the Nets 108–99 on April 4, 1975. The Memphis Sounds' Eastern Division 111–99 semifinal loss on the road to the Kentucky Colonels on April 13, 1975, was the final game played by the Sounds. After the season they moved to Marylan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NBA Referees
Referees in the National Basketball Association (NBA) oversee 120 pre-season games, 1,260 regular season games, and four rounds of playoff matches. These officials "oversee competition in real-time between 10 exceptional athletes, making calls with 95% accuracy." In March 2015, the NBA began issuing Last Two Minutes reports that detail the performance of referees at the ends of games which the point differential is within five points with two minutes or less remaining in the contest. Officials For the 2024–25 NBA season, there are 75 staff officials and 9 non-staff officials: Staff officials * Ray Acosta, #54 * Brandon Adair, #67 * Bennie Adams, #47 * Brent Barnaky, #36 * Curtis Blair, #74 * Matt Boland, #18 * Tony Brothers, #25 * Nick Buchert, #3 * John Butler, #30 * James Capers, #19 * Derrick Collins, #11 * John Conley, #56 * Sean Corbin, #33 * Kevin Cutler, #34 * Mousa Dagher, #28 * Eric Dalen, #37 * Marc Davis, #8 * JB DeRosa, #22 * Mitchell Ervin, #27 * Che Fl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Basketball Association Referees
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label that was previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2016 Deaths
This is a list of lists of deaths of notable people, organized by year. New deaths articles are added to their respective month (e.g., Deaths in ) and then linked below. 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 Earlier years ''Deaths in years earlier than this can usually be found in the main articles of the years.'' See also * Lists of deaths by day * Deaths by year (category) {{DEFAULTSORT:deaths by year ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1985 NBA Finals
The 1985 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1984–85 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. It featured the defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference playoff champion Boston Celtics against the Western Conference playoff champion Los Angeles Lakers. The Celtics were looking to repeat as NBA champions for the first time since the season. The Celtics had home court advantage for the second year in a row as they finished the regular season with a 63–19 record while the Lakers compiled a 62–20 record. The Lakers looked to bounce back from the previous year's painful loss to the Celtics in the championship series, and were still seeking to beat Boston for the first time ever in NBA Finals history. Also for the first time since 1955, the Finals implemented a 2–3–2 format with Games 1 and 2 in Boston while the next three games were in Los Angeles. The final two games of the series wou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1984 NBA All-Star Game
The 34th National Basketball Association All-Star Game was played on January 29, 1984, at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver. The East All-Stars defeated the West All-Stars, 154–145. Isiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons was named the MVP of the game. As of 2025, this is the most recent NBA All-Star Game played during the month of January. Rosters *DNPMoses Malone was unable to participate due to injury. Bill Laimbeer was named as his replacement. *STEastern Conference head coach K.C. Jones chose Robert Parish to start in place of the injured Malone Score by quarter *Halftime— West, 76–62 *Third Quarter— West, 107–99 Slam Dunk Contest Larry Nance of the Phoenix Suns won the first NBA Slam Dunk Contest. NBA All-Star Legends Game 1984 also saw the return of the Legends Game after a 20-year absence. *In the East squad it featured the likes of Pete Maravich, Oscar Robertson, Sam Jones, John Havlicek, Dave DeBusschere, Nate Thurmond, Zelmo Beaty, Wes Unseld, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1983 NBA Finals
The 1983 NBA World Championship Series, also known as Showdown '83, was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1982–83 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. It was the last NBA Championship Series completed before June 1. The Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers four games to zero to win their third NBA championship. After their previous four final meetings, they beat the Lakers for the first time in NBA Finals history. 76ers center Moses Malone was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP). This, along with the 1989 NBA Finals, were the only two NBA championships of the 1980s not to be won by either the Lakers or the Boston Celtics; every NBA Finals of that decade featured either the Lakers or Celtics, and sometimes both ( 1984, 1985, 1987). Coincidentally, the Lakers were also swept in the 1989 NBA Finals, that time by the Detroit Pistons. Back ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1981 NBA Finals
The 1981 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1980–81 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. It pitted the 62–20 Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics against the 40–42 Western Conference champion Houston Rockets. This series has the distinction of featuring for the third time in NBA history, and last to date, a team with a losing record in the Finals. They were the first team since the Minneapolis Lakers in 1959 to reach the championship round despite having more regular season losses than wins. This, along with 1986 (which was also played by the Celtics and the Rockets), was one of the only two NBA championships of the 1980s not to feature the Lakers. Background Houston Rockets Prior to the season, the NBA moved the Rockets and San Antonio Spurs from the Central Division of the Eastern Conference to the Midwest Division of the Western Conference. The Rockets and Spurs traded pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1980 NBA Finals
The 1980 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1979–80 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 2 to win their seventh championship. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the league's MVP, but midway through Game 5, the Lakers center suffered a severely sprained ankle. He managed to come back in the game in the fourth quarter to lead the Lakers to victory and a 3–2 lead in the best-of-seven series. But the Lakers still had to travel to Philadelphia for Game 6. Abdul-Jabbar was listed as out of Game 6, although 76ers coach Billy Cunningham was quoted as saying "I won't believe he's not playing until their plane lands and he's not on it." As it turned out, Kareem did not make the trip and was listed as doubtful if Game 7 had been needed. In Game 6, Magic Johnson played what may have been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1979 NBA All-Star Game
The 1979 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game which was played on February 4, 1979, at the Pontiac Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan. This was the first All-Star Game where no members from Boston Celtics or New York Knicks had been selected as All-Stars. In addition, this was the first All-Star game held in a football or baseball dome as opposed to a traditional basketball arena; the Detroit Pistons were playing at the Pontiac Silverdome at that time. The Western All-Stars defeated the Eastern All-Stars, 134–129. The MVP of the game was David Thompson, who scored 25 points. The game was officiated by John Vanak, Jack Madden, and Hugh Evans. Coaches Dick Motta, head coach of the Washington Bullets, qualified as the head coach of the Eastern All-Stars. Lenny Wilkens, head coach of the Seattle SuperSonics, qualified as the head coach of the Western All-Stars. Roster Western Conference Eastern Conference Score by periods Referen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1977 NBA Finals
The 1977 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 1976–77 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers played against the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers, with the 76ers holding home-court advantage. Their four regular season meetings had been split evenly, 2–2, with neither side winning away from home. The series was played under a best-of-seven format. The 1976–77 NBA season started with the ABA–NBA merger. Portland had benefited from the resulting ABA dispersal draft as they acquired Spirits of St. Louis power forward Maurice Lucas to partner with Bill Walton, and Philadelphia had signed ABA All-Star and 3-time ABA MVP Julius "Dr. J" Erving, who had taken the New York Nets to the ABA title the previous year. In the 1977 NBA Finals, five of the ten starting players were former ABA players (Julius Erving, Caldwell Jones, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
